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Planet Hollywood Studios is an aggregated list of feeds from the Disney internet community all over the web, filtered to only show news about Disney's Hollywood Studios. It looks through feeds from the internet's leading sources on Walt Disney World news and displays items that pertain to Disney's Hollywood Studios.

This is your official warning! It’s apparently time for that annual event – the Walt Disney World ticket price increase. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Magic Kingdom will see a price increase that will raise the cost of a one day ticket to $105, plus tax, for adults (ages 10 and up.) This will finally take the Walt Disney World Resort over the $100 mark, making it the first theme park to do so.

In addition, it would seem that tickets for Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom will also be increasing; guests can expect to pay $99 for an adult one day ticket (ages 10 and up.).

Of course, with the one day ticket price increases, it is also extremely likely that all other Magic Your Way ticket prices will also increase. These change are expected to occur over the weekend. (Prices will very likely increase for Sunday morning.)

Rumors indicate that Disneyland may also see price increases, and of course, if Walt Disney World does increase their prices this weekend, then it will be highly likely that other Orlando theme parks (like Universal Orlando Resort) will also see increases.

I’ll make sure to have the full pricing details for you as soon as they are released.

If you’ll be traveling to Walt Disney World this year, consider purchasing your tickets now and remember that our Price Comparison Tool can help you find the least expensive tickets for your needs.

It’s February. Over the past couple of weeks Disney Parks have been putting up construction walls all over the place, including around some of its most popular icons. The Hub in Magic Kingdom park is getting a complete overhaul, and the Partners Statue is in a box. Sleeping Beauty castle in Disneyland is boarded up for its diamond treatment. The Sorcerer’s Hat in Disney’s Hollywood Studios is almost gone!

So what happens when you visit at a low-crowd, high-refurbishment time of year and all your classic picture spots have fake curtains, walls or cranes? Find new photo spots! Even if the picture you post on Facebook doesn’t have Cinderella Castle behind you, most people will recognize where you are. Here are some great spots where you can get a fabulous Walt Disney World family picture:

Magic Kingdom

If you glance at a map of this park, you could spot a dozen different picture spots. While some of the old locations have changed with the addition of New Fantasyland and Storybook Circus, the most iconic are still available, along with some great new shots. Here are some of them:

Splash Mountain (watch out for water!)

Big Thunder Mountain

Haunted Mansion (tons of great shots for this one)

The Liberty Belle

Epcot

It is very difficult to know a time in Walt Disney World’s history where Epcot’s Spaceship Earth has been refurbished on the outside. (The Wand addition and removal is one time I can remember.) However, if the giant icon is experiencing Crane Syndrome, any of the show buildings in Future World and World Showcase would be great. Here are my favorites:

The Seas external sign (with the gulls or with the main characters)

Inside The Land: seasonal hot-air balloons

Italy pavilion

Canada pavilion

Japan’s torii

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Disney maps have started using the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror as the new icon of the park (though I’m still a big fan of the Earful Tower). I’m not going to use that one in this blog. Hopefully the Chinese Theater will stay unobstructed for a while once the Sorcerer’s Hat is completely removed. (I’m looking forward to those pictures!) But while we wait for those shots, here are some other great locations:

The Streets of America

The AT-AT at Star Tours (my favorite photo location!)

The speederbike

The Muppet fountain

Animal Kingdom

There are a lot of great locations here besides the Tree of Life. While it may be hard for people to tell these are Disney locations, they are still great places to take a picture:

The Forbidden Mountain

Pick a drum and have a ball!

Shots with animals! (be careful!)

Other Great Photo Spots

Not every iconic photo needs to be taken in the parks, not every photo needs to be with a popular building or prop, and sometimes the best pictures are the spontaneous ones!

You can take shots at your favorite resort hotel:

The giant icons at Pop Century

The Grand Floridian

You can time your picture perfectly with the moving (or stopped) monorail:

The monorail circling Epcot

Or you could just completely forget the icons and just take character pictures till the cows come home!

Remember the Rapunzel and Flynn meet-and-greet? Reminds me of 2011!

No matter where your photographic eye takes you in the Disney Parks, you are bound to take a great shot. And you don’t need those giant park icons to get it!

Do you have a favorite picture spot that’s off the beaten path? Are you just counting the days till the construction walls come down around the icons? Do you envision any NEW picture locations that will be coming in the future? Comment below!

Disney California Adventure is home to, in my opinion, the best Christmas entertainment in any Disney park, Viva Navidad. But did you know it’s also home to an annual celebration of Lunar New Year? Starting today and running until Sunday at Paradise Gardens, you can find cultural entertainment, food, activites, and Disney characters all decked out in Lunar New Year gear. The main attraction is the Lunar New Year Procession hosted by Mulan and Mushu. It features a group of performers in elaborate costumes that dance and drum along with the music (listen closely and you’ll notice the music is from the old Mulan parade at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios).

More pictures after the jump.

The character meet and greet spot is located next door to Paradise Garden Grill. Here you can meet Mushu, Mickey & Minnie (in Lunar New Year gear), or Chip & Dale (also in Lunar New Year gear). The characters rotate every 20 minutes and the line can get quite long so you don’t know who you’re going to meet.

For Valentine’s Day lunch we couldn’t think of a better place than Kona Cafe. The food is wonderful and the setting is comfy and casual. Traffic was worse than we’d anticipated so we made it to the podium exactly on time for our 12:30pm reservation. Of course, that meant we had to wait about 15 minutes for a table. They seemed quite short staffed with several empty tables despite gobs of people waiting outside. It was nice to have the tables next to us open, though. Our appetizer of potstickers ($8.49) were super yummy and came out so quickly they beat our drinks!

Want to see what we ordered? Be sure to click to read more!

For lunch I ordered the Kona Surf and Turf Burger ($17.49) and my hubby decided on the Barbecue Pork Tacos ($12.99). I feel like I should explain that I’d skipped breakfast and had soup for dinner the night before, which is why I thought shrimp on a burger sounded like a good idea. After three bites I knew I’d made a mistake and deconstructed the burger to eat the shrimp separately. This burger was huge and would have been plenty enough to share, but I think I’ll try something else the next time we’re there. It was a little on the bland side. In contrast the tacos were awesome! However, the pasta salad it came with was inedible. I almost spit it out when I tried it. Though we didn’t order the best things this trip, we’ve always had great meals here and we’ll be back for sure.

Over at Downtown Disney, the Sanuk store and Sound Lion have opened. While I’m not too excited about either of these shops, they have both made a big difference in the feel of this area. It’s been an empty wasteland for so long that it’s nice to see some life come back! It’s getting to the point where it’s pleasant to walk around again and it will get nothing but better!

Something else that has just opened is the Art of Shaving. For Valentine’s day I treated my hubby to a royal shave ($55 before tip) and he just loved it. He’s had professional shaves in the past and this was his favorite by far. The only odd part is that you’re really on display during the service as the chair faces windows and a busy walkway. They also let other guests in to see the space while he was in the chair with a towel over his face! Bonus for the ladies, there is a plush area to wait. Plus there was no pushy sales pitch on the way out. This is a great way to spoil someone (or yourself!) on your next trip.

We stopped by the Magic Kingdom on Valentine’s Day with FastPass+ reservations and no real desire beyond seeing the new hub construction. As you can see below it looks marvelous! It’s a long way from done, but you can tell already that this will all be worth it and the Magic Kingdom will be more beautiful than ever when it’s done.

I failed to mention that over lunch I’d attempted to change our FastPass+ reservations and the system was totally dead. When we got to the parks all of the FastPass+ kiosks had very long lines so we just kept what we already had. As you can see below left, even with extra locations open they couldn’t keep up with the demand. I held my breath when I scanned my band at The Haunted Mansion, but I’m happy to report it worked perfectly! I removed my other Magic Bands from my online account as a cast member suggested, so maybe that helped.

Did I mention it was crowded? It was Christmas week kind of crowded with waits like 45 minutes for It’s a Small World and a whopping 180 minutes for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train! There was nothing in the park to ride without a considerable wait so we meandered around taking photos until our next FastPass+ reservation.

We stopped by Tomorrowland to see if everything had been removed from the arcade (below left). I’m sad to report than every single game has either been removed or walled off. Even pinball machines have been replaced by massage chairs. We actually played in this area a lot and are sad to see it go. Below right you can see a cast member holding a sign for the end of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover queue. In my house we commonly refer to this as the sign it’s time to leave!

On our way out we used our FastPass+ for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh without any trouble. The standby line was at 55 minutes so I was thankful it worked. Honestly, I felt so bad for all the people that had traveled to be there. The park looked like it was nearing capacity and everything had long waits, and when I say everything I mean everything. Remember if you’re visiting on a day this busy to leave extra time for bathroom breaks and for meals. People forget that the waits for those basic facilities can be as long as 30 minutes on a very crowded day.

I’m very happy to report the Pandora store did open on Main Street (below left)! While I’m excited to have it there, the shop is just a generic shell. The brand name could be taken down and the space used for anything else. I’m sure it’s designed this way on purpose but I was hoping for something a little more special. However, they did have all the park exclusive charms so this is the place to go if you’re in the market! Below right, is a new Dooney & Bourke design featuring the four Walt Disney World parks. Note that the Earful Tower is used as the icon for Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

With that, we decided to give up on the crazy crowds and head out for the day. What would you have done? Are you brave enough to stay in the parks with massive crowds? Let me know in the comments below. I can tell you if we had been on vacation I would have gone back to the hotel for a long nap and come back much later in the evening. Since the park was open until 1am, I imagine the crowds would have been much lighter late that night.

Since we weren’t on vacation, we waited until the next day to head over to Universal. Just a little after 9am we walked into Islands of Adventure with no real destination in mind beyond walking through the parts of the park we hadn’t seen since renewing our passes. Apparently, we picked the least popular spot in the parks as you can see from the photo below!

We found the crowds once we made it to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The line for Forbidden Journey was already 60 minutes! However, since my hubby doesn’t like this ride I was able to go single rider in less than 10 minutes. I absolutely love Forbidden Journey, there is nothing else like it! Next we hopped on the Hogwarts Express over to Universal Studios. As you can see from the photo below right, I think I’ve figured out the camera settings needed to capture this ride. If I can ever get on a car that isn’t jam packed full I’ll take some video for you guys!

I should admit that I skipped live tweeting this weekend because I don’t know my way around Universal very well. I was worried that if the park was crowded I wouldn’t know what to do and you guys would be disappointed. I shouldn’t have worried, though. We had a great day at Universal and were able to stay quite busy. I think the sign below right perfectly shows the difference between Universal and Disney. Sure, it’s a tongue in cheek Simpsons reference but you’d never see that at Disney!

While I’m not including photos of everything, we were able to see several shows and rides. It almost seemed too easy, I mean check out the queue for Terminator 2: 3-D, below left. Then I realized that we’d chosen to open the park on an evening when Mardi Gras was taking place. I’m sure the crowds came in droves to see the Barenaked Ladies after we’d left for the day. Are you guys interested in seeing Mardi Gras at Universal? Let me know in the comments below! (Side note: Terminator 2: 3-D is holding up great for its age! I was still impressed with it all these years later.)

Before we left for the day we decided to grab lunch at one of my all time favorite dining spots, Finnegan’s! I have to admit when we don’t have admission to Universal this is one of the things I miss most. It’s tough to believe that food this good and affordable can be found inside a theme park.

For lunch, I had the Sheperd’s Pie ($11.99) and my hubby decided to share it with me and have some Irish Chicken Stingers ($7.99) on the side. On a whim I added cheese to the top of my meal for an extra 79 cents, but that ended up being a mistake. I pulled off 75% of the cheese because there was just so much of it and it didn’t really add anything to the flavor. That was our only minor complaint of an otherwise perfect meal. The service was excellent and we even got a passholder discount! Our excellent table service lunch cost us about was a quick service meal would run at Disney. Food for thought if you’re considering a visit to Universal.

That’s everything for this week. Now let’s see what you can expect if you’re visiting next week.

Crowd Calendar: This weekend thankfully won’t be nearly as busy as last weekend. You can look forward to another few relaxed weeks before Spring Break season starts.

Weather: It looks like it will be nice and warm during the days with cool mornings and evenings. Perfect weather for the parks!

Remember: If you’re interested in an appointment at The Art of Shaving, it’s a good idea to book ahead. Appointments can be made by calling (407) 560-8320.

Here’s my top tip for this week: When you eat at Finnegan’s (not if, when!) be sure you save room for the bread. All meals come with complementary Irish soda bread and apple butter. (pictured left) It’s crazy good!

Do you have any news I missed or any requests for coverage next week? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below, and thanks so much for reading! I’m wishing all of you the Best Week Ever, until next time!

Star Wars Weekends are rapidly approaching; we are only 3 months away from Weekend I! This year the event takes place at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on weekends (Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays) from May 15 through June 14.

Star Wars Weekends dates for 2015 are:

Weekend I: May 15-17

Weekend II: May 22-24

Weekend III: May 29-31

Weekend IV: June 5-7

Weekend V: June 12-14

The excitement is ramping up as new details are starting to trickle out about this year’s events, like that fact that once again performing hosting duties each weekend will be character actor, James Arnold Taylor, who voiced Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Star Wars: Clone Wars.”

In addition to his general hosting duties, he will also be hosting the “Stars of the Saga” talk show, where he will interview some of the many celebrities that appear during Star Wars Weekends. The “Stars of the Saga” show will be taking place in an all new venue this year, the Theater of the Stars, allowing for more Guests than ever to experience the show. (The Theater of the Stars is where Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage is held, however don’t despair Beauty and the Beast fans! The show will still also be performed in the Theater of the Stars during Star Wars Weekends.)

For those who like shopping, Darth’s Mall will also be moving; the new location will be found near the Streets of America. Darth’s Mall is where you’ll be able to pick up the latest and greatest in Star Wars merchandise.

As part of the evening’s events, there will be the “Summon the Force” celebration, which is where your favorite characters will assemble and your social media moments will be shared. The evening will end with the “Symphony in the Stars” fireworks extravaganza, saluting the saga’s most memorable stories.

Disney had previously announced that two fantastic character meals that were introduced last year will be returning. Guests can participate in the Star Wars Dine-In Galactic Breakfast at Sci Fi Dine-In Theater. Here guests can meet characters from the Star Wars universe, including Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Greedo, Jawas, and Stormtroopers. The cost for this breakfast is $49.99 per adult (ages 10 and up) and $31.99 per child (ages 3 to 9). (Again, tax is included, but gratuity is not).

There’s also the Jedi Mickey’s Star Wars Dine at Hollywood and Vine, where guests can meet Disney characters dressed as those from the Star Wars universe, such as, Jedi Mickey, Princess Leia Minnie, Darth Vader Goofy, Storm Trooper Donald, and Ewoks Chip ‘n’ Dale. The cost for this meal is $57.99 per adult (ages 10 and up) and $34.99 per child (ages 3 to 9). (Tax is included, but gratuity is not). The Jedi Mickey’s Star Wars Dine is only available for dinner.

These two character meals are available daily from May 4 through June 14.

There are still more details left to be finalized and announced, like other additional entertainment offerings and which celebrities will be appearing. One thing is for sure though, with Star Wars VII opening in theaters this year, this year’s Star Wars Weekends are hopefully going to be very exciting!

And if you like what you see here, there are a lot more where these came from! To see our whole list of must-have “off the menu” items for 2015, pick up your copy of the Guide today for $4 off using code 2015 right here!

During my last couple of visits, I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy their Spicy Tomato Butter! You’ll find this amazing sauce on their Oak-Fired Mussels, but if you’re not interested in ordering said Mussels, consider requesting some of the Spicy Tomato Butter with your bread.

Bread with Spicy Tomato Butter and Other Accompaniments

And I’m so glad I asked the server for this “off the menu” request, because that butter is incredible! Spicy, savory, and rich, it’s delicious served with bread.

In fact, on one recent visit, the server actually brought it to me slightly melted, like a dipping sauce! Heaven.

But there is one key ingredient missing when they bring the family-style dishes to your table; the meal doesn’t automatically include Cranberry Sauce. And I don’t know about you, but it just isn’t Turkey Day without that little gem on the table.

Cranberry Sauce at Liberty Tree Tavern

But never fear — they have Cranberry Sauce — and it’s pretty fantastic! You just have to request it. It seems that not all guests love it as much as you and I, so it ended up being thrown out quite a lot of the time.

So order it with abandon if you like a little Cranberry Sauce on the side of your meal — they’re happy to bring it to you, included in the cost of the meal!

Fried Mozzarella at Via Napoli

Speaking of Liberty Tree Tavern, they used to have a wonderful Tavern Fried Cheese Appetizer that included Deep Fried Cheese Curds. They were out of this world.

Sadly, you can’t get them in the Colonial American-themed spot — but I DID find something similar at one of my favorite Epcot restaurants, Via Napoli!

The nuggets of fresh cheese come as part of the Fritto Misto Platter, but when ordered that way, you only get a couple. I always ask for extra, and they’ve been happy to bring them every time!

Mozzarella Caprese at Via Napoli

If you miss the Tavern Fried Cheese, ya gotta try this!

Ready for All of Our Best Tips?

We’ve got TONS of Disney World Dining Tips — including some of our other suggestions for fun things you may want to order that aren’t on the menu — in our big, bold, 490-page DFB Guide to Walt Disney World® Dining 2015 — and the guide is your ticket to planning your best Disney trip yet!

The DFB Guide to Walt Disney World® Dining 2015 is full of tips and planning tools developed by Disney World experts over 20+ years of visits. We’ve done the research for you, so you’ll know just which spots will uniquely suit your family’s needs!

With the debut of the Hollywood Tower Hotel Authentic merchandise line on Friday the 13th, came some minor enhancements to the Tower Hotel Gifts shop at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The Hollywood Tower Hotel Authentic Collection, much like last year’s Haunted Mansion Authentic line, aims to provide guests with merchandise they may find if the attraction […]Read more

You knew it was only a matter of time before Disney turned their latest theme park must have into a collectible. With this Frozen themed set of Magic Bands, the evidence is clear – Disney wants you to get very close to your favorite Disney characters.

These limited edition Magic Bands are only available in the parks and you must present either valid theme park admission, a Memory Maker card, or another MagicBand at the time of purchase.

A new Olaf “Chillin in the sunshine” Magic Band was just released and it joins the three that are available at Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. They’ll run you $29.95 plus tax.

I like the idea that these are available, but I am not in the mood to add one more thing to the list of collectibles in my house. What about you? Would you like to buy them all or just one or two that really interest you?